


Effigy

by CorpseBrigadier



Category: Final Fantasy VI
Genre: Drunkenness, Other, Shapeshifting, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-23
Updated: 2020-11-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 07:02:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27689333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CorpseBrigadier/pseuds/CorpseBrigadier
Summary: On the counterfeiting of memories.
Relationships: Daryl/Setzer Gabbiani, Setzer Gabbiani/Gogo
Comments: 6
Kudos: 11





	Effigy

**Author's Note:**

> A piece inspired by the rumors of old that Daryl and Gogo were one and the same.
> 
>  **Note on Content:** Gogo's pretty alien here and Setzer's pretty drunk; while I wrote this encounter envisioning both parties consenting, there is room for readings of things being of a more dubious nature.

"Shorter..." Setzer said blearily. "She had a tall personality, but when it came to flesh and blood she was compact... angular... like she had built herself to cut through the cloud layer."

The figure in front of him rustled, scarves and tassels coiling about its body like serpents as it rearranged itself into a form some fraction of an inch lower to the ground. Its hips were narrow; its shoulders broad. Bit by bit by bit it had amalgamated her features, until Setzer saw a ghost in every fold of tented cloth and ornament. He stood up, trying to root himself into the floor lest he stagger. For a moment, he only watched the tumbler in his hand, waiting until the last dregs of amber gold brandy at its bottom no longer made a ripple.

"You remember the voice?"

It nodded.

"And the color, with a red gold you only see in the light... like the last one before the last one we tried. Not like General Chere... not like Maria. The last one before the last."

It nodded again. Setzer wondered if it understood. Setzer wondered if there were a single native thought in its head somebody hadn't placed there. He held his breath and tried to will his heart back into a cool and regular rhythm. Stepping forward, he drew back the veil just enough to see a familiar pair of arched lips drawn into a smile.

"Hello," he said, trying to keep his voice even and uncracking.

"Hello."

His grip tightened on the glass as she spoke. He uncovered the rest of her very suddenly after that, throwing the scarf to the floor with all the flourish of a stage magician.

Daryl continued to smile at him, back lit and bright. He finished the brandy and set the glass gently down on the windowsill, watching as it cast a winking circle of light onto the ceiling. He sighed, and stepped back over to her.

"I missed you."

"I missed _you_."

The intonation was off—just slightly. Her grey eyes did not carry that trace of violet he recalled them having. Four, perhaps five drinks, however, fuzzed and fused all those details together. As he craned his head towards her and watched hers do the same, he told himself that it could well be that his memories were wrong.

**Author's Note:**

> See my [profile](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CorpseBrigadier/profile) for notes on remixes, podfic, derivative works, and constructive criticism.
> 
> Written for the FFA prompt ["100 words of mistaken identity."](https://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/414437.html?thread=2453075173)


End file.
